Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Roberval has just given an excellent speech concerning the regions in his riding in particular.
I shall complete the member for Roberval's response to the question from the secretary of state—whom I thank for asking it—as to what exactly the situation is in Quebec.
For Quebec, this means 250 plants that create work, 35,000 direct jobs in plants or in the forest, 250 municipalities affected, 100% of job creation in 135 towns or villages, and $4 billion injected into the economy. Let us keep in mind that Quebec is the second ranking province affected by the problem, accounting nonetheless for 25% of Canadian production. The expanse of forest In Quebec is bigger than a number of countries, covering 646,000 square kilometers.
In the year 2000, Quebec's softwood lumber production totalled in excess of 17 million board feet. In 2000, Quebec's hardwood lumber production was 1,335,000 board feet. Out of Quebec's total softwood lumber exports, 54.5% goes to the United States, as does 41.9% of its hardwood lumber exports. Exports to the other provinces account for 42.9%. That is the situation.
I am from the Chaudière-Appalaches region, which is opposite Quebec City, across the river, and extends as far as Beauce. It includes Beauce, Lotbinière, Bellechasse, Montmagny and Lévis. This region has 2,000 forest workers and 6,000 plant workers, producing one billion dollars worth of exports to the United States annually. One billion is far from peanuts.
The Secretary of State wondered what exactly the Bloc was proposing. Of course, for the major companies—and there are some big businesses in this field—this would be an extension of what Canada Export and Development could do. It used to be EDC, the Export Development Corporation. It could provide loan guarantees to these major companies. In my region, however, it is mainly the small companies that are affected. Most of them are not registered with this federal agency.
So what we want is to see the companies gain a little time. It could be up to six months. The Bloc is asking for six months of special assistance to the small and medium business sector, until the legal or intergovernmental squabble is over, the discussions that are going on with the United States.
What is needed is a program which could cover up to 50% of the salaries of affected employees. Without this, what will happen? People will have to receive EI benefits. Which would the government prefer? Keep people working, or let them go on EI? We know what will happen. People will go on EI, with all that this means in terms of loss of dignity for those workers affected.
These are the sorts of measures we are proposing. The Bloc Quebecois has put forward a plan, which would take the form of special assistance for at least six months, until the situation becomes clearer. It would cost about $500 or $600 million for all of Canada. As the hon. member for Roberval just said, there is a surplus right now. The government can afford to do something about this crisis.
I would like to add a special note here. In my riding, there are two companies which are directly affected by the softwood lumber dispute. One of them went bankrupt on Friday. These people are going through this situation this week. I need hardly say that I will be trying to find a solution. However, how does one convince a banker to delay payment schedules?
I am going to mention a specific example. I called someone who had to extend a loan or extend his room to manoeuvre.
The person to whom I spoke, whom I will not name here, told me “Yes, Mr. Dubé, you say that you think that there will be a federal assistance program. I have just read the newspaper and the Minister for International Trade said 'Oh, but the difficulties are not just because of the problems of U.S. countervailing duties. It is a natural restructuring phenomenon'”.
The previous day, I had tried to reach this person. Finally, on Thursday, I read in the newspapers what the minister said. “Do not get excited. There is no problem. It is a problem, but there is no real loss of jobs”. In contrast, the Canadian Manufacturers' Association said “Already, 1,800 jobs have been lost and, in the weeks to come, as the duties take effect—which will be May 23—this number will rise much higher”.
Yesterday, I was in my riding and I know that this situation is having an impact on those not directly affected, such as people who work in hardware stores, those who sell lumber, and those who sell it after it is processed, even if only to immediate clients. Even for these folks, it is traumatic.
We see this with banking institutions. I am not talking about large banking institutions, but about those in ridings. They are worried because if a particular caisse populaire makes a loan to a company and it is not paid back, shareholders will be affected.
I quoted figures earlier. There is more than just the 35,000 or 38,000 jobs in Quebec to be considered. The multiplier effect all this has on the economy must be considered. I consulted no economist this morning, but I know there is a multiplier effect of at least four. This is the way it has to been seen. It involves other jobs.
It can also lead to bankruptcies. The bankruptcy of one small business can result in four or five others. In the final month before declaring bankruptcy, the owner alone may be aware of the facts. He is afraid, so he does not pay his latest bills. When he does not pay these bills, others are affected.
In short, Mr. Speaker, I know that you understand the situation very well, because there are people in your riding working in this area. The crisis is much more serious than it first appears. Given the present figures, even though spring has arrived, this sort of thing snowballs and creates an even more serious psychological climate in the lumber sales sector.
Therefore, I congratulate my colleague from Joliette for introducing a motion on behalf of the Bloc Quebecois on this opposition day in order to debate the situation. I thank the Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific for his concern over this matter; although international development is his focus, it does not prevent him from being very aware, according to his question, of the concerns of the people in his riding, his region and even people in Quebec or British Columbia.
We have a full blown crisis, a real catastrophe. We must all drop partisanship and appeal to everyone so that an assistance program may be set up quickly and as a priority to enable these people not only to save their companies but also to save jobs and prevent the very serious consequences this could have on regional economy.
In this regard, I wanted to join with the other Bloc members to speak to this debate. I note a sensitivity and a receptiveness, as in the case of the last speaker. I tell myself that on days like today, it is worth speaking in parliament, because people listen and want to act. If they do so, I encourage them to do it quickly.
